I have never before thought much of the concept of fasting from a particular item and seen that as a "spiritual fast". Sure, it may be a great practice to give up TV for a week or Facebook for a month- that may reap great benefits in one's life- but is that the same thing as the spiritual act of fasting that God and the Bible have esteemed for centuries? The act of complete dependency on God, abstaining from food so that ALL of you is dependent on Him? Dependent on Him for strength, for nourishment, for guidance- that your ears may be opened and your eyes enlightened and that your *true bread* may be the Bread of Life...?
But as I meditate more and more on Isaiah 58... and as I reflect on the time- the life- the experiences I have had since living in Tanzania.... my perspective on fasting has somewhat changed... and deepened.
Isaiah 58 is like our guidebook for fasting- it is where God tells us what true fasting consists of. And what the results- what the benefits- what the effects of it should be and are.
Isaiah 58...
What are the purposes of/reasons for fasting as God desires?
-To loose the chains of injustice
-To untie the cords of the yoke
-To set the oppressed free
-To share your food with the hungry
-To provide the poor wanderer with shelter
-To clothe the naked
-To spend yourself in behalf of the hungry
-To satisfy the needs of the oppressed
And what are the results of fasting? What are the effects/benefits we can expect?
-Your light will break forth like the dawn
-Your healing will quickly appear
-Your righteousness will go before you
-The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard
-You will call, and the Lord will answer
-You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail
-You will rebuild ancient ruins and raise up age-old foundations
-You will be a repairer and a restorer
-You will find your joy in the Lord
This passage came *alive* to me last spring. In moving to Tanzania, I left behind all of the comforts of the West and endured through many difficulties in living here [incessant heat and humidity, constant power outages, continually getting sick from the air quality here, leaving behind *all* that was familiar- family, friends, language, job, culture- and having to transition in every.single.area.of.life.- friends, job, language, culture, way of living]. I remember during Lent last year I didn't "give anything up" (which I usually do) because I felt my entire life had already "given up so much" - I just couldn't imagine purposely giving up one thing more - from my favorite foods (spinach salads, frozen yogurt, Mexican food) to all conveniences of the West (having a car, nicely paved roads, Starbucks, air conditioning, temperature-controlled rooms) to the excesses of American life (shopping, pretty things in abundance, entertainment at every corner) to art and culture (museums, good architecture, live music venues).... Yes, I had given up a LOT in coming here. I had given up the West. And that was not easy. Many hardships arose from giving up all such comforts, and I daily felt that I was 'carrying my cross' as I was abundantly aware of all that I was living without.
Yet a strange thing started to happen towards the end of the year. As I lived with this "less"- as I daily gave up material comforts SO THAT I could live and serve in Tanzania and *spend myself* on behalf of the poor here... as I became more involved in daily life here, in the culture, in ministry.... as I served village children on the weekend through Bible studies, as I developed loving relationships with the Tanzanians who worked in my home, as I spent Sunday afternoons loving on children in a local orphanage, as I strove to be a voice for the poor and oppressed who live here, as I came to know my Tanzanian neighbors and seek out opportunities to serve them... My life became FULL of JOY (v. 14)... Joy as I had never before known. I felt SO well-watered, that my spring of living water inside would never fail (vs. 11). My life was JOY- it was radiant- it was blessed- it could be a blessing. As I gave up the material comforts that we so often cling to in order to find what we think is happiness and strove to pour myself out for those I had come to serve in Tanzania, my life was FULL of the promises of Isaiah 58... My life was FULL.
And I have only since seen this principle continue to work and increase, the longer I have been here. The more I pour myself out for others, the more I spend myself on behalf of the hungry and needy and oppressed, the more my LIGHT rises in the darkness... the more my life is full of LIGHT and JOY and RADIANCE.... a light and a joy that comes *only* from Him. That comes as we serve and as we pour ourselves out- that comes as we purposely and intentionally fast from the things of this world- abstaining from worldly comforts that seek to take His place and offer counterfeit sources of fulfillment in our lives. Counterfeits that can never and will never give us the joy and abundance of life that only He can give.
James 1:27 has long been one of my favorite verses- and one of the clearest directives I believe God gives us in telling us how He desires for us to serve Him: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress" ... I usually end the verse right there, because God is clearly using this passage to emphasize the importance and need for us to take care of orphans and widows. Yet the verse doesn't end there... the completion of it is: "to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Isn't that last segment - "to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" - fulfilled when we intentionally fast from the things of this world? When we intentionally give up the excesses, the riches, the things that this world offers? And isn't that the kind of "religion" that God here tells us He desires?
I am still very much a proponent of fasting from food as a spiritual discipline, as has been practiced for centuries, and using that time to call out to God and come nearer to Him... that is a Scriptural and blessed discipline that God clearly honors and uses (and that Jesus practiced). But as I reflect more on this passage and on my own experiences, I do believe that our fasting can at times (and should) take on other characteristics. Our excessive, gluttonous Western culture may be wise to take heed that much more in our lives needs to be fasted from.
Am I purposely spending less money on my own wardrobe so that I can give money to clothe those who cannot clothe themselves? Am I giving up my own comfort and space so that I can take in a neighbor who needs shelter? Am I giving up time that I would otherwise devote to empty entertainment (movies, TV, sports games) and using that time to pour myself out and serve others who are in need? Am I spending less on Starbucks and on meals out so that I can pay to provide meals for those who cannot provide it for themselves or their families? I think each of these examples is a very Biblical picture of fasting and corresponds directly with what Isaiah 58 tells us.
**Lord, may I pour myself out- may I give up more and more the things of this world- and may I spend my life on behalf of the hungry and oppressed and needy- that you may pour your *living waters* into me and through me- that my life may be a blessing... a life full of love, light, joy, and radiance.
"You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose *waters never fail*." Isaiah 58:11
"Then you will look and be RADIANT, your heart will *throb and swell* with JOY." Isaiah 60:5
But as I meditate more and more on Isaiah 58... and as I reflect on the time- the life- the experiences I have had since living in Tanzania.... my perspective on fasting has somewhat changed... and deepened.
Isaiah 58 is like our guidebook for fasting- it is where God tells us what true fasting consists of. And what the results- what the benefits- what the effects of it should be and are.
Isaiah 58...
What are the purposes of/reasons for fasting as God desires?
-To loose the chains of injustice
-To untie the cords of the yoke
-To set the oppressed free
-To share your food with the hungry
-To provide the poor wanderer with shelter
-To clothe the naked
-To spend yourself in behalf of the hungry
-To satisfy the needs of the oppressed
And what are the results of fasting? What are the effects/benefits we can expect?
-Your light will break forth like the dawn
-Your healing will quickly appear
-Your righteousness will go before you
-The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard
-You will call, and the Lord will answer
-You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail
-You will rebuild ancient ruins and raise up age-old foundations
-You will be a repairer and a restorer
-You will find your joy in the Lord
This passage came *alive* to me last spring. In moving to Tanzania, I left behind all of the comforts of the West and endured through many difficulties in living here [incessant heat and humidity, constant power outages, continually getting sick from the air quality here, leaving behind *all* that was familiar- family, friends, language, job, culture- and having to transition in every.single.area.of.life.- friends, job, language, culture, way of living]. I remember during Lent last year I didn't "give anything up" (which I usually do) because I felt my entire life had already "given up so much" - I just couldn't imagine purposely giving up one thing more - from my favorite foods (spinach salads, frozen yogurt, Mexican food) to all conveniences of the West (having a car, nicely paved roads, Starbucks, air conditioning, temperature-controlled rooms) to the excesses of American life (shopping, pretty things in abundance, entertainment at every corner) to art and culture (museums, good architecture, live music venues).... Yes, I had given up a LOT in coming here. I had given up the West. And that was not easy. Many hardships arose from giving up all such comforts, and I daily felt that I was 'carrying my cross' as I was abundantly aware of all that I was living without.
Yet a strange thing started to happen towards the end of the year. As I lived with this "less"- as I daily gave up material comforts SO THAT I could live and serve in Tanzania and *spend myself* on behalf of the poor here... as I became more involved in daily life here, in the culture, in ministry.... as I served village children on the weekend through Bible studies, as I developed loving relationships with the Tanzanians who worked in my home, as I spent Sunday afternoons loving on children in a local orphanage, as I strove to be a voice for the poor and oppressed who live here, as I came to know my Tanzanian neighbors and seek out opportunities to serve them... My life became FULL of JOY (v. 14)... Joy as I had never before known. I felt SO well-watered, that my spring of living water inside would never fail (vs. 11). My life was JOY- it was radiant- it was blessed- it could be a blessing. As I gave up the material comforts that we so often cling to in order to find what we think is happiness and strove to pour myself out for those I had come to serve in Tanzania, my life was FULL of the promises of Isaiah 58... My life was FULL.
And I have only since seen this principle continue to work and increase, the longer I have been here. The more I pour myself out for others, the more I spend myself on behalf of the hungry and needy and oppressed, the more my LIGHT rises in the darkness... the more my life is full of LIGHT and JOY and RADIANCE.... a light and a joy that comes *only* from Him. That comes as we serve and as we pour ourselves out- that comes as we purposely and intentionally fast from the things of this world- abstaining from worldly comforts that seek to take His place and offer counterfeit sources of fulfillment in our lives. Counterfeits that can never and will never give us the joy and abundance of life that only He can give.
James 1:27 has long been one of my favorite verses- and one of the clearest directives I believe God gives us in telling us how He desires for us to serve Him: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress" ... I usually end the verse right there, because God is clearly using this passage to emphasize the importance and need for us to take care of orphans and widows. Yet the verse doesn't end there... the completion of it is: "to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Isn't that last segment - "to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" - fulfilled when we intentionally fast from the things of this world? When we intentionally give up the excesses, the riches, the things that this world offers? And isn't that the kind of "religion" that God here tells us He desires?
I am still very much a proponent of fasting from food as a spiritual discipline, as has been practiced for centuries, and using that time to call out to God and come nearer to Him... that is a Scriptural and blessed discipline that God clearly honors and uses (and that Jesus practiced). But as I reflect more on this passage and on my own experiences, I do believe that our fasting can at times (and should) take on other characteristics. Our excessive, gluttonous Western culture may be wise to take heed that much more in our lives needs to be fasted from.
Am I purposely spending less money on my own wardrobe so that I can give money to clothe those who cannot clothe themselves? Am I giving up my own comfort and space so that I can take in a neighbor who needs shelter? Am I giving up time that I would otherwise devote to empty entertainment (movies, TV, sports games) and using that time to pour myself out and serve others who are in need? Am I spending less on Starbucks and on meals out so that I can pay to provide meals for those who cannot provide it for themselves or their families? I think each of these examples is a very Biblical picture of fasting and corresponds directly with what Isaiah 58 tells us.
**Lord, may I pour myself out- may I give up more and more the things of this world- and may I spend my life on behalf of the hungry and oppressed and needy- that you may pour your *living waters* into me and through me- that my life may be a blessing... a life full of love, light, joy, and radiance.
"You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose *waters never fail*." Isaiah 58:11
"Then you will look and be RADIANT, your heart will *throb and swell* with JOY." Isaiah 60:5
